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How do we emigrate to the US?
My husband, children and I are DESPERATE to live in the US but it appears to be impossible unless you are A. married to an American, or B. rich.
We are both British (English) born and I am a housewife. My husband works in the City (London) in finance and we have six children. We would easily be able to afford a decent sized house without a mortgage but only have about £50,000 in savings. Please help, we all totally love the place so much and feel constantly sad about the seeming impossibility of getting there. Any advice? Thanks |
Re: How do we emigrate to the US?
Originally posted by aramintaalice ..... Please help, we all totally love the place so much and feel constantly sad about the seeming impossibility of getting there. Any advice? Thanks (i) Marriage (or engagement in anticipation of marriage) to a US citizen. (ii) You have skills that are in short supply in the US e.g. IT, scientific or medical training. (iii) You have an employer who is willing to transfer you - but even the employer has to make a good case for you - so you have to be a manager unless you fall under category (ii), above. (iv)get a greencard in the diversity lottery (UK citizens, except N.Ireland are not eligible) (v) You own a business (does not get you permanent resident status .e. no greencard) (vi) You are an "investor" i.e. you have at least US$1m in assets to bring with you. It is not easy to get even a recruitment agent to take you seriously if you are not already in the US, but if you are getting a visa under (ii) above then you need a job offer before you can get the visa. It's a chicken and egg situation. If you want to come to live in the US then, as a British citizen, the only realistic options you have are (ii) or (iii) in my list above. Which ever way you try to do it, it is going to be very difficult, but if you really want to it is possible. I hope this helps. |
Re: How do we emigrate to the US?
Originally posted by aramintaalice My husband, children and I are DESPERATE to live in the US but it appears to be impossible unless you are A. married to an American, or B. rich. We are both British (English) born and I am a housewife. My husband works in the City (London) in finance and we have six children. We would easily be able to afford a decent sized house without a mortgage but only have about £50,000 in savings. Please help, we all totally love the place so much and feel constantly sad about the seeming impossibility of getting there. Any advice? Thanks That is how my parents (both British citizens) got into the US. I think the employer may also have respected that he had already uprooted and gone through the immigration process once so it is a hop, skip and a jump if you've got the right candidate for the job. However, the other thing to think about is that Canada is full of people who would like to emmigrate to the US. It just depends on him having high qualifications in a specialized field. I don't know about how compatible finance is.. |
Re: How do we emigrate to the US?
Originally posted by aramintaalice My husband, children and I are DESPERATE to live in the US but it appears to be impossible unless you are A. married to an American, or B. rich. We are both British (English) born and I am a housewife. My husband works in the City (London) in finance and we have six children. We would easily be able to afford a decent sized house without a mortgage but only have about £50,000 in savings. Please help, we all totally love the place so much and feel constantly sad about the seeming impossibility of getting there. Any advice? Thanks Your best bet is to get taken on by a company over here. They will then apply for a work visa for you. If you have no contacts, consider coming over on a fact-finding holiday and establishing some. Eventually you can get resident status through working on a visa for a length of time - not my specialty sorry - but you need to be aware of the risks. If you come on a work visa it is tied to the company that employed you. If they sack you - and that kind of stuff happens a lot over here it seems to me - your visa expires and unless another company is willing to take on the expense of a new visa you have to leave pretty suddenly. Also, if you do successfully switch companies the clock on getting a green card goes back to day 1. I have German friends who have been here 5 years now without a greencard because he has to switch jobs just before the clock stops at the magic number. The wife finds the uncertainty of living with the possibility of having to up sticks at short notice (employment law in Texas does very little for employees and they don't have to give a reason to let you go) very stressful. Probably you need to talk to more people who've done it this way. An immigration forum would be your best bet. Good luck - it's nice here. Regards -=- Scarlett |
Re: How do we emigrate to the US?
Originally posted by ScarlettHill Hi, Your best bet is to get taken on by a company over here. They will then apply for a work visa for you. If you have no contacts, consider coming over on a fact-finding holiday and establishing some. .... It is just about impossible to justify employing people on non-immigrant visas (H1 or H2) right now, many such people have been "released" over the past 21 months and had to return to their home country. When the economy is growing again it might work, but by far the best, and safest, route when you have a family to think about too, is to get a job with an employer who will transfer you to the US - point (iii) in my post above. Anything based on an H1/ H2 visa is going to be a serious seat-of-the-pants roler coaster ride for at least five years until you establish enough residency rights to apply for a greencard. |
Re: How do we emigrate to the US?
Originally posted by aramintaalice My husband, children and I are DESPERATE to live in the US but it appears to be impossible unless you are A. married to an American, or B. rich. We are both British (English) born and I am a housewife. My husband works in the City (London) in finance and we have six children. We would easily be able to afford a decent sized house without a mortgage but only have about £50,000 in savings. Please help, we all totally love the place so much and feel constantly sad about the seeming impossibility of getting there. Any advice? Thanks Hi, as an American I would like to wish you all the luck in the world with your efforts. I supposed I should stop taking my Americanhood for granted, I keep reading posts about people who're desperate to get here but can't. Anyway, good luck. |
This may or may not help you, and I know very little about the whole immigration process (I'm just starting it myself). My immigration lawyer told me when we were discussing my options that if you invest between $50k and $100k in a business (either buy into one or start a new one, amount varies depending but the more the better), you can get a visa. If you've got £50k savings, the exchange rate is good so this might be an option.
I really, really advise you get an immigration lawyer. Newsgroups are great, but you can't beat expert advice. Just do an initial consultation - some laywers give free ones, or expect to pay up to £100 ($150) for between 30mins and an hour phone consultation. They may come up with other options for you. |
I would like to thank everyone so much for their advice. It's really kind of you to take the trouble to offer help. Perhaps the Canadian route is a possible way - I may look in to that. I have to be very careful though because of my (many) children! If it were just us I'd be prepared to risk almost everything we own but as I am responsible for their little lives I have to make safe decisions. I think I may speak to an immigration lawyer but have heard scare stories of firms who take your money and run. Thanks also to Pulaski, who offered a follow up comment. I will re-read all the replies and use the advice - thanks.
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Just being nosy aramintaalice :p , but what area of the US would you like to live in?
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If I'm really honest - I'd prefer somewhere warm but I'd happily go to Michigan if it meant being in the US. If it were just a case of warmth it would be very easy for anone British to go to Spain or similar. It's the American way of life that we love - truly - it's wonderful and I'm sad every day that goes by that I'm still stuck here.
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Originally posted by aramintaalice I would like to thank everyone so much for their advice. It's really kind of you to take the trouble to offer help. Perhaps the Canadian route is a possible way - I may look in to that. I have to be very careful though because of my (many) children! If it were just us I'd be prepared to risk almost everything we own but as I am responsible for their little lives I have to make safe decisions. I think I may speak to an immigration lawyer but have heard scare stories of firms who take your money and run. Thanks also to Pulaski, who offered a follow up comment. I will re-read all the replies and use the advice - thanks. |
Originally posted by jaytee You could look at doing a home exchange. Today, there are plenty of sites on the internet. .......... |
Originally posted by aramintaalice If I'm really honest - I'd prefer somewhere warm but I'd happily go to Michigan if it meant being in the US. If it were just a case of warmth it would be very easy for anone British to go to Spain or similar. It's the American way of life that we love - truly - it's wonderful and I'm sad every day that goes by that I'm still stuck here. |
" It's the American way of life that we love - truly - it's wonderful and I'm sad every day that goes by that I'm still stuck here."
I have never been to the UK, but I thought that we all weren't all that different. What does America have that the UK doesn't offer? |
free refills? (went to lunch the other day and paid £8 for 4 cokes.)
customer service? (my estate agent is taking me to court for their fees even though I have sold to my friend and next door neighbour as a private buyer) reasonable gas prices? (My sister in laws car costs $11 to fill up where as mine costs are $55 in the UK, similar cars, hers a focus, mine an astra) better taxes? (my mortgage interest is not deductable, nor are a range of other home related outgoings). value for money on most things? the ability to have a better quality of life on less income? Im sure there are literally 10000's more examples. But you do pay the price with having to put up with dodgy beer and no BBC / Channel 4. Oh well, cant have everything. |
You'd probably have to visit the UK to understand - most English people LOVE the country and think my position is crazy. Where do I begin?
1. I detest sport over here (my husband loves it) but your Football is wonderful. We were lucky enough to go to a match and the friendly atmosphere is overwhelming. In England rival teams supporters are strictly separated - the violence between fans is severe, sometimes fans are hospitalized whereas your fans mix in the same stands, the tailgate parties that we witnessed were amazing. 2. Everyone is friendly and talkative. Talk to a person here and they think you're a weirdo to be avoided, even a request for the time usually draws a suspicious look. 3. Cars are HUGE and automatic, roads are huge, petrol (gas) is cheap and petrol stations are everywhere. It costs me the equivalent of $90 to fill my tank up! When we first came we hired a Dodge Ram and when the pump clicked off because the tank was full my husband thought he'd broken it!! With six kids I have to drive a fairly big car and its also automatic but the vast majority of people drive tiny manual vehicles. 4. The opportunities for exploration are endless - so many diverse states each a mini country in itself - there's nowhere to go here in comparison. A few years and you've seen it all. 5. This will sound silly but, school buses. We'd seen them on films and were quite enchanted to find that they really exist. Our small roads are clogged up with parents driving their kids to school. Buses are only provided if you live in a rural area and are more than 3 miles from the school and even then that isn't a special designated bus with special 'no passing while the stop signs show' rules. We either get a local coach company sub-contracted to take the children or, as in my eldest son's case , a free bus pass is provided but this means that the children have to travel along with any members of the public who also use the service. Thats potentially hazardous because children as young as 9 may be travelling alone and this means that they could be abducted while waiting at or walking to, the bus stop. 6. The wildlife is beautiful. You have many things that we never see here. 7. Because of the vast area of land your houses, even for ordinary people, are much bigger than ours. I live in a 7 bedroom, 4 bathroom house but I bet that the total square footage would be comparable with your 4 bed houses. 8. Probably another point that some will find a bit silly but I LOVE the way you talk - both the accent and the words, sometimes we would be talking to an American and often use words that they just didn't know. It was funny to them and to us and we loved it. 9. You have lots of events like Thanksgiving etc that we don't have. I think 'graduation' is a big deal. Here nothing happens you just move on to the next stage of life with no fuss. Its really hard to explain to you exactly and the things above by no means cover the subject, it's just a feeling that we get while there and everytime in England that we see the American flag or something that serves as a reminder, perhaps a holiday video we feel awful. Two of my children feel as strongly as we do, and my six year old son came home from school yesterday asking, 'when can we live in America cos I really want to'. Hope this gives you a bit of an insight and sorry to ramble on so much! |
Originally posted by Pulaski Since when did homes, British or American, come with attached immigration visas? :confused: |
Plus the crime rate in the UK is becoming astronomical. Another drive by shooting less than a few streets away from me, and I live in a "good" area.
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aramintaalice, the only thing I can suggest is to study nursing. It would take you 5 years (3 years University, and 2 years visa processing max.) but it's a brilliant option. Nurses and doctors are the only ones who can get an employment based green card, and you would be able to get a green card for your entire family. After you qualified here you could get sponsored by an agency that specializes in getting UK nurses to the US, and while your green card was pending you could be getting very worthwhile experience in the UK. Once in the States you would earn decent money and have unending possibilities, and would never be out of work. It's only 2 months before I finally get out to the States, and it's been hard but so worth it. If you're serious about getting to the US it may be your only option. It's notoriously hard to get in in any other way.
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Come On now, we do get BBC Americaa, and we get to watch repeats of Changing Rooms, Ground Force, What not to wear and some other dross...
Come on BBC...where's the Only Fool and Horses? |
Refreshing to hear
It is so nice and refreshing to hear these positive opinions about the USA. Most of my life (I'm 39) all I ever heared from foreigners that live here is how great their country is and how they can wait until they are eligible to collect Social Security (government retirement) and return to their country (usually not a Western country).
I was raised in Brooklyn, New York, but left when I was 24 years old to start a new life in Denver, Colorado. The suburbs of Denver are very nice. We just had a senior citizen friend from Sammonden,Huddersfield,West Yorkshire, England visit us. After leaving Denver she took a coach bus tour of the National Parks in the Western part of the USA. She had a great time. I encourage any of you Brits to check out Denver, especially the southern suburbs. We just bought a brand new ranch house for $282,000 (4 bedrooms,2 bathrooms, 1665 sq. feet) which is kind of expensive for us, but from what I hear, is reasonable for you. http://www.lennar.com/ushome/communi...MAPSEARCH=true I agree with the poster regarding the nursing degree. Many nurses who aren't even fluent in English easily obtain green cards in the US. Good Luck, Jay |
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Originally posted by darrenb free refills? (went to lunch the other day and paid £8 for 4 cokes.) customer service? (my estate agent is taking me to court for their fees even though I have sold to my friend and next door neighbour as a private buyer) reasonable gas prices? (My sister in laws car costs $11 to fill up where as mine costs are $55 in the UK, similar cars, hers a focus, mine an astra) better taxes? (my mortgage interest is not deductable, nor are a range of other home related outgoings). value for money on most things? Hey Darren, tell me you did inform your estate agent of the offer from your friend whilst under your agreement with them - if you didn't and they can proof that you agreed to sell before their contract with you was finished - your well and truly F***ED. On the other hand if you did this after your estate agent contract had finshed - no probs. The crux of this is wether you sell to family or strangers even off your own efforts to sell the property you still have to inform and pay the estate agent, if under contract the ability to have a better quality of life on less income? Im sure there are literally 10000's more examples. But you do pay the price with having to put up with dodgy beer and no BBC / Channel 4. Oh well, cant have everything. |
Originally posted by mark19964 ..... But you do pay the price with having to put up with dodgy beer ..... There are now a huge number of micro breweries (many of which are no longer particularly "micro") that are producing an ever increasing range of beers. Even ordinary neighborhood groceries are stocking a reasonable choice. A word of warning - stay clear of the fruit flavored beers! :scared: |
Good to mention.
I also started making my own beer. www.beerathome.com :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: Originally posted by Pulaski Hey, the beer situation is improving all the time. :beer: There are now a huge number of micro breweries (many of which are no longer particularly "micro") that are producing an ever increasing range of beers. Even ordinary neighborhood groceries are stocking a reasonable choice. A word of warning - stay clear of the fruit flavored beers! :scared: |
Originally posted by darrenb customer service? (my estate agent is taking me to court for their fees even though I have sold to my friend and next door neighbour as a private buyer) In NC if you sign up with a Realtor to help you find a house and you find a house privatley you still have to pay the realtor (if the private seller doesn't which they won't as it was you that signed up with the realtor). Originally posted by darrenb free refills? (went to lunch the other day and paid £8 for 4 cokes.) Reasons to hate England they drive on the wrong side people speak with english accents its an island its connected to France via a tunnel they don't have monkey pox they don't have hurricanes.......... If you want to leave the UK thats your decision but you really don't have to justify it as its your own decision. Good Luck aramintaalice Patrick btw - thank god they don't have drive by shootings in the states as no-one has guns and there is zero gun crime, in fact there is no crime whatsoever! Just say you want to live in the US people, no one will hate you for it! |
Originally posted by Patrick Well thats not customer service that's stupidity on your part! When you sign a contract with an estate agent it clearly says that if you sell your house privatley they still get the money. In NC if you sign up with a Realtor to help you find a house and you find a house privatley you still have to pay the realtor (if the private seller doesn't which they won't as it was you that signed up with the realtor). There are plenty of places that do free refills in the UK, your just being silly - if you want to find stupid reasons to hate the UK we can find millions- Reasons to hate England they drive on the wrong side people speak with english accents its an island its connected to France via a tunnel they don't have monkey pox they don't have hurricanes.......... If you want to leave the UK thats your decision but you really don't have to justify it as its your own decision. Good Luck aramintaalice Patrick btw - thank god they don't have drive by shootings in the states as no-one has guns and there is zero gun crime, in fact there is no crime whatsoever! Just say you want to live in the US people, no one will hate you for it! |
Originally posted by aramintaalice You'd probably have to visit the UK to understand - most English people LOVE the country and think my position is crazy. Where do I begin? 1. I detest sport over here (my husband loves it) but your Football is wonderful. We were lucky enough to go to a match and the friendly atmosphere is overwhelming. In England rival teams supporters are strictly separated - the violence between fans is severe, sometimes fans are hospitalized whereas your fans mix in the same stands, the tailgate parties that we witnessed were amazing. 2. Everyone is friendly and talkative. Talk to a person here and they think you're a weirdo to be avoided, even a request for the time usually draws a suspicious look. 3. Cars are HUGE and automatic, roads are huge, petrol (gas) is cheap and petrol stations are everywhere. It costs me the equivalent of $90 to fill my tank up! When we first came we hired a Dodge Ram and when the pump clicked off because the tank was full my husband thought he'd broken it!! With six kids I have to drive a fairly big car and its also automatic but the vast majority of people drive tiny manual vehicles. 4. The opportunities for exploration are endless - so many diverse states each a mini country in itself - there's nowhere to go here in comparison. A few years and you've seen it all. 5. This will sound silly but, school buses. We'd seen them on films and were quite enchanted to find that they really exist. Our small roads are clogged up with parents driving their kids to school. Buses are only provided if you live in a rural area and are more than 3 miles from the school and even then that isn't a special designated bus with special 'no passing while the stop signs show' rules. We either get a local coach company sub-contracted to take the children or, as in my eldest son's case , a free bus pass is provided but this means that the children have to travel along with any members of the public who also use the service. Thats potentially hazardous because children as young as 9 may be travelling alone and this means that they could be abducted while waiting at or walking to, the bus stop. 6. The wildlife is beautiful. You have many things that we never see here. 7. Because of the vast area of land your houses, even for ordinary people, are much bigger than ours. I live in a 7 bedroom, 4 bathroom house but I bet that the total square footage would be comparable with your 4 bed houses. 8. Probably another point that some will find a bit silly but I LOVE the way you talk - both the accent and the words, sometimes we would be talking to an American and often use words that they just didn't know. It was funny to them and to us and we loved it. 9. You have lots of events like Thanksgiving etc that we don't have. I think 'graduation' is a big deal. Here nothing happens you just move on to the next stage of life with no fuss. Its really hard to explain to you exactly and the things above by no means cover the subject, it's just a feeling that we get while there and everytime in England that we see the American flag or something that serves as a reminder, perhaps a holiday video we feel awful. Two of my children feel as strongly as we do, and my six year old son came home from school yesterday asking, 'when can we live in America cos I really want to'. Hope this gives you a bit of an insight and sorry to ramble on so much! When we returned a few weeks back from Canada, it was kind of nice being home, if only to see the friendly faces of our American waitresses when we went out to have our first meal. The "natives" are friendly and that to my way of thinking is a big plus. Good luck in your quest. You will enjoy living here. You appear to be kind of person who sees the glass half full... |
Originally posted by Ranjini ....... Something I miss over here is the sports. Especially, cricket. ..... |
Originally posted by Pulaski You could always try watching paint dry, it is very similar. Except that the paint won't break for tea, and the paint will be dry by the end of the day whereas with cricket you have another three days left. :p |
Originally posted by Ranjini At last someone with "the other side of the story". Something I miss over here is the sports. Especially, cricket. But I do agree with you about the friendly atmosphere. It's everywhere. When we returned a few weeks back from Canada, it was kind of nice being home, if only to see the friendly faces of our American waitresses when we went out to have our first meal. The "natives" are friendly and that to my way of thinking is a big plus. Good luck in your quest. You will enjoy living here. You appear to be kind of person who sees the glass half full... |
Originally posted by aramintaalice That depends. The glass is half full while I'm over there but somehow it suddenly appears to be half empty as soon as I get back to England again! Thanks for wishing me luck - I think that training as a nurse or a teacher seems to be the best way and am contacting colleges now! Watch this space........ ;) |
The Grass is always Greener on the Other side!
Hello! Friends
I was reading your post about how much you would love to move to the US and in my case I would love to move to the UK. I have a friend who came here as an aupair from England and now she is a permanent resident, of course it took a few years but you never know. Contact me, maybe I can introduce you to her and she can give you some good advice. I'm still having hopes to move to the UK. Love Northern England! Absolutely! |
Originally posted by Ranjini Sounds like you don't enjoy cricket :) No point asking, but perhaps you aren't a fan of the limited-overs game either. .... The main problem I have is that cricket takes so long for anything exciting to happen. Sure a one day match can be exciting, but only the last half hour or so, and even then only sometimes! |
Originally posted by Pulaski There is something peculiarly British about the game though, a game the English invent with rules so complex that few people fully understand them and they introduce it to other countries that play better than the English national side! :rolleyes: |
Originally posted by Ranjini I have to confess that I don't understand the intricacies of the game either. Never been able to tell a chinaman from a googly nor a late cut from a leg bye... generally leave it to the men-folk to hash and rehash "how the game was played". You're right. I don't believe England has ever been a World Cup winner... A Chinaman is a googly by a left handed bowler! Cricket 101 |
Re: The Grass is always Greener on the Other side!
Originally posted by bubbles2003 Hello! Friends I was reading your post about how much you would love to move to the US and in my case I would love to move to the UK. I have a friend who came here as an aupair from England and now she is a permanent resident, of course it took a few years but you never know. Contact me, maybe I can introduce you to her and she can give you some good advice. I'm still having hopes to move to the UK. Love Northern England! Absolutely! But.....why would you want to move to the UK? I can't see any benefits unless you're seriously ill and need the NHS!! No, seriously I'd love to know why you'd want to be here though.:) |
Re: The Grass is always Greener on the Other side!
Originally posted by aramintaalice But.....why would you want to move to the UK? I can't see any benefits unless you're seriously ill and need the NHS!! No, seriously I'd love to know why you'd want to be here though.:) Millions of people all over the world would love to go live in the UK. Hence all the EEC people flocking there, full of French, Dutch, Germans, Italians, Swiss etc. Flocking to London & the City for jobs. I am sure there are just as many people wanting to go to the UK as the USA. Prorated there are five times as many Americans as British & USA is 60 times bigger than UK, if you use those multiples on those desperate to go to UK, I bet the number is far greater than those trying to come to USA. Lots of people choose the USA over UK, for one reason, it's easier to get into the US then it is to live work in UK. The UK is an Island. The US has many borders to creep in. I got in a cab in NYC recently, the driver told me he lived in UK. Why did he leave, because he got deported. What was he doing in USA, because it's easier to get to live here than the UK. Reg. Frank R. Living in the USA, but very proud to be British. |
Re: The Grass is always Greener on the Other side!
Originally posted by frrussre II try not to get into "P"ing contest’s, but think your comment above, sad, unbelievable and insulting. Lots of people choose the USA over UK, for one reason, it's easier to get into the US then it is to live work in UK. The UK is an Island. The US has many borders to creep in. I got in a cab in NYC recently, the driver told me he lived in UK. Why did he leave, because he got deported. What was he doing in USA, because it's easier to get to live here than the UK. |
Re: The Grass is always Greener on the Other side!
Originally posted by Rockgurl I'm sorry but this is absolutely not true. You have no idea...the UK is awash with thousands upon thousands of illegal immigrants, and even legal immigrants. Our government is so unbelievably free with immigration that we are overun. Every English person knows that it is becoming a problem. If the US is so easy to get into then why have I been waiting 2 and a half years to emigrate there? Why is it that every time I go there I am heavily questioned? I think the USA is the hardest country in the world to get into...even for a vacation. I only wish that the UK immigration officers were as tough as the ones in NYC! Then we wouldn't have so many problems. Are you looking at the UK, last ten years with EEC & the stories of illegal’s & the Channel tunnel. Or are you looking at UK USA last 50 years. Yes it's tuff to visit USA & yes they ask a lot of silly questions. But much more difficult to emigrate to UK "Legally" then to emigrate to USA "Legally" Reg. Frank R. |
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